The weightlifting myth

Today I am moving around like a very old woman, every movement practised and painful. I have not somehow become Benjamin Button but I did find the courage to get my lazy ass back into the gym this week and my body doesn't know what hit it. Muscle groups that had grown cobwebs have been awoken and when I am not hurting all over, it feels great.

I never would have imagined weight lifting as something I would do. In fact when it was first suggested to me that I learn Olympic lifting as technique, I was a little taken a back. As terrible as it sounds I had always thought weightlifting was for men and very strong women. Much as I was learning to master kettlebells and moving on to heavier weights over time, I still saw the barbel as out of my reach. It was something I would watch other women do and just be impressed. Ah if only I could be so strong. I am never going to be the strongest or the fastest in any room but that's okay because as it turns out I am not all that competitive. The one thing I wished I had known sooner is that weight lifting is awesome and when you learn how to properly lift the bar, its the best feeling in the world.

I came to the gym worried about gaining muscle because to me at that time it meant being bulky and manly and generally not good. To her credit, my sister, who knew so much more than me, managed not to laugh out loud when I shared these concerns because as it turns out this is a misconception many women hold onto. In the many years where I have dipped in and out of classes I have learned that muscle burns fat and that you can build muscle for a long time without it being visible. I keep mine hidden under my wobbly bits but I know its there and that's what's important. Also women's bodies don't naturally get bulky just from weightlifting. You need supplements and a specific program so it turns out I was missing out on so much because of these unfounded fears.

I think it's been about two years now since I first picked up a bar. I can't say my technique is anything worth bragging about because I am clearly not a natural. That's okay though because what I have learned is that lifting a bar makes me feel powerful and strong. When I first learned to deadlift, I was made practice in the mirror so I could check my own technique and learn to stick my butt out. My sister has spent a lot of years shouting that one instruction at me and it eventually sunk in. I was possibly so slow to learn because ,when deadlifting in front of a mirror, I spent far too much time thinking about how great it made my arms look at the top position and not enough time checking if my butt was stuck out. 

so as you may have gathered it is highly unlikely that I will ever an Olympic weightlifter. I can only hope to eventually master the techniques that have so far evaded me and one day do a workout where my bar does not need to be scaled down. My recent return to the gym has reminded me how much I have missed the bar and also that I probably wouldn't be in this much pain if I had made these gym visits a more regular occurrence. For now though I will be nursing my poor broken body and thinking about what I will get up to on my next visit to the gym.